1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a computer system, and more particularly to a computer system which, mounted on its rack with modules including a plurality of computers, disk units and so forth, carries out power supply to and signal connection among the modules.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to the conventional practice, when a plurality of servers are to be mounted on a standard rack such as a 19-inch one to configure a system, cables for power supply to the servers and cables for connecting the plurality of servers have to be arranged on the rear side of the rack. Architecting the arrangement of these cables involves a problem that, in addition to the time taken to accomplish connection while disposing of extra lengths of cables, the arranged cables obstruct the ventilation flue of cooling air flow.
For instance, JP-A No. 267860/1993 discloses a computer system in which three vertically long passages are fitted on a side of a frame to accommodate electronic device modules, such as computer units and disk units, of which one allows cables from the modules to pass, another feeds cooling air to the modules and the remaining one permits a commercial power supply cord to pass.
In recent years, blade servers which permit cableless mounting of server modules on a chassis have emerged. However, the blade server modules, which conform to respective individual manufacturers' own designs, involve a problem of incompatibility among different makes.
Moreover, there is another problem that developing the server module to the manufacturer's own design entails a high development cost. Moreover, when configuring a conventional system, a plurality of chassis has to be mounted within a rack, and this necessitates cables for connecting the chassis among one another, making it impossible to realize a cableless arrangement within the rack.